A new Thanksgiving tradition
by TigreMalabarista
Summary: Summary: At Thanksgiving dinner, the suit decides to act like a turkey all its own, causing problems for Aidan, Ralph, Pam and one other.


Summary: At Thanksgiving dinner, the suit decides to act like a turkey all its own, causing problems for Aidan, Ralph, Pam and one other.

--------------------------------------

"Dinner's about ready. Now, where's Aidan," said Pam as she walked out of the kitchen.

"Given her luck lately, stuck in a suit scenario with Tony," said Ralph as he got up from a chair in the living room. Bill was having dinner with Harlan, Ira and some of his other buddies this year, and while Tony said he was going to celebrate with his family, with the suit, no one knew if that would remain the same all day.

"And knowing Tony, she probably did," said Pam. "Just hope she doesn't end up hurt or knocked out. I don't want to have to bring her dinner in the hospital."

"Pam, I wouldn't worry, I think she'll be enjoying dinner here. She promised me unless it was a matter of life and death it was going to be the suit's day off. From what she said too, Tony knows that he can't change it either. Something about if he did, she'd 'tie him up and take him to the little cave they built into the side of Mount Rushmore.'"

Pam only laughed as she placed the turkey in the center of the table. Ralph walked over and looked over her shoulder. "Smells good," he said.

"Thank you hun."

"I was talking about _you_," said Ralph with a twinkle in his eye and then kissed Pam. "Sure we can't just call her and say we changed our minds?"

She smiled. "No. She's bringing company…"

"Oh yes, the boyfriend," he said. "Been a while since she's brought one home hasn't it? What's his name again?"

"Rodney Jameston. He's been dating Aidan for about a month."

"Oh yeah, about 6-foot tall, light brown hair, green eyes... works at our rival's school?"

"You're starting to sound like Bill," said Pam, smiling.

"Well… I have to look at all scenarios too you know. After all, Ade was 'kidnapped' at homecoming her senior year because they wanted to capture Whitney's mascot. Still doesn't know I already knew about it."

Pam laughed. "Wasn't that when they first met?"

"Yeah, but they got to know each other better during college," said Ralph as he heard a knock at the door. Looking through the peephole, Ralph saw Aidan and Rodney outside and opened the door. "Hey guys come on in," he said with a smile.

Aidan walked in, carrying a plate of some sort of appetizer. Ralph could tell she was wearing the suit under her clothes. Noticing her godfather's quizzical look, she winked, meaning it was 'just in case.' "Hey, Ralph," said Aidan as she handed him the plate and gave him a kiss on the cheek.

"Hi Ade. Rodney, how are you?" said Ralph as he shook the man's hand. "Not trying to kidnap our famous Cavalier again are you?"

"Oh no, this Cavalier and Panther are good friends," said Rodney with a chuckle as he handed Ralph a bottle of sparkling grape juice. He understood that Aidan couldn't drink alcohol, so he made sure to buy something they'd all enjoy. "We've been talking about that annual jewelry show that Aidan is going to compete in. We went to see her project before we came here."

"Yeah, how is that going Aidan," said Pam as she got a kiss on the cheek from her goddaughter as well. She knew that Aidan had been spending a lot of time on the project, especially since afterward it was going to be auctioned off and the proceeds to go to the school.

"Going well, especially since I had a couple of problems with the cuttlefish castings. Too little silver and all that smoke…"

"Yeah, I was wondering why Superintendent Knight asked me if you were frying chicken feathers again," said Ralph with a chuckle. "C'mon, dinner's ready so let's sit down before it gets cold."

The group nodded and sat down, Ralph and Pam at the head of the table and Aidan and Rodney across from each other. After saying grace, Ralph carved the turkey and began putting slices of the tender turkey on plates.

Receiving her plate, Aidan smelled a warm, spicy scent from the meat and smiled. "I see Pam tried that Cajun style turkey recipe I gave her," she said.

"Well, it was something new, and it did sound good," said Pam. "Besides, it helps that it was going to be the four of us this year. We didn't need another fiasco like last year."

The three Hinkleys chuckled, confusing Rodney. "Last year, Pam tried a recipe for deep fried turkey with rosemary and thyme. She got everything ready and began to cook the turkey. Everything was going well...," Ralph explained.

Pam continued. "Unfortunately, Bill… he's a friend of ours, thought he smelled illegal drugs and went over to the turkey, looking in the pot. Worried what might be _in_ the turkey, he decided to take it out and toss it in the garbage, where the hot oil in it and the paper in the trash caught on fire."

"Come to find out, we forgot to remove the giblets that were in the turkey, and the combination of them and the herbs made it smell funny," said Aidan.

"Oh, well I like turkey any which way, even if you forget to remove the giblets. Given some stuff Aidan makes, I'm willing to try anything," said Rodney with a chuckle.

Aidan caught the man's sly wink in the process and laughed herself. "Yeah, hopefully nothing weird happens around here this year," she said, giving a slight knock on the table.

As soon as she did that, the turkey started to float in the air. Ralph and Pam gave a sideways glance at Aidan, and she shrugged helplessly. 'C'mon suit, don't start this stuff now,' she thought, groaning.

"What the devil," said Rodney, only to see the turkey drop on its own. "What's going on Aid…" No sooner did it do that, Aidan turned invisible right in front of his eyes. He stood up and walked over to where the she had been sitting, wondering where she went.

Confused themselves, as they hadn't seen her turn invisible - at least this long - before, Ralph and Pam stood and looked at the spot where Aidan was sitting, then looked down at the carpet. Rodney followed suit and his eyes widened. A pair of footprints were clearly imbedded in the carpet and were rising and sinking in the plush material.

Too shocked to speak, Rodney blinked a couple of times before he fainted. Ralph reached out to catch the man, but was surprised to see the man apparently stay standing despite being out cold. "I've got him Ralph," said Aidan as the two saw Rodney suddenly appear to be floating on his stomach in mid-air.

Ralph and Pam followed Aidan to the living room where she laid Rodney on the couch. Seeing only one of Rodney's eyelids being lifted, they realized Aidan was checking the man to make sure he was all right.

"Ade, when did you start turning invisible?" said Pam, still a little stunned.

"Not too long ago, the day after I donated blood. Haven't been able to do it since then."

"Did you give blood recently," asked Ralph.

"No, so I don't know what it is this time."

"Well, when I first found out about it, the suit would turn me invisible at the drop of a hat," the man said.

Pam thought for a moment. "Were you going to tell Rodney know about the suit, Ade?"

"No, at least not yet, just in case we don't stay together," said Aidan. "Too risky, if you know what I mean. It's been tough enough to date so far with the suit, mostly because Tony seems to barge in at the wrong time."

"We know the feeling sweetheart. Ralph and I were just starting to date when he got the suit," said Pam. "Guess the irony is I fainted when I first saw him do something wearing it."

"But, you already had seen the suit, since you had to bail me out of the psych ward at the hospital," said Ralph. 

"Psych ward?" said Aidan. "Wait… suit, nevermind, but you've got to tell me sometime. Been lucky so far there, but it's only because of the suit letting me morph it."

"True Ade," said Ralph, noticing Rodney start to stir. "Listen, you need to try to blink back visible and fast."

Aidan tried, but no luck. "Oh hell, not again," she said. "Took forever last time."

Pam shook her head when she heard Rodney groan. "Go to your bedroom and try not to think about it. We'll make up an excuse for your absence."

No sooner did the door to Aidan's room close did Rodney open his eyes. "Hey Rodney, how are you feeling," said Ralph.

"I'm all right, Mr. Hinkley. What happened?"

"You passed out… probably because of the heat," said Pam quickly.

"Passed out?" said Rodney. "Poor Ade, she must be… where's Aidan? Wait, she disappeared."

"Rodney…."

"Mrs. Hinkley, I could've sworn I saw her disappear and a pair of footprints moving on the ground where here chair was - but no one there. How did she manage that?"

"Magic of course," said Aidan as she walked out her bedroom. She was visible again… and Ralph and Pam saw she wasn't wearing the suit under her clothes anymore. "I was trying a magic trick … it's part of a Thanksgiving tradition. I should've warned you about it. Didn't know you'd fain… pass out from seeing it."

"It's OK, Ade. Knowing you, I should've known better," said Rodney, sitting up. "Now, I don't know about you three, but I'd like to go back and eat some dinner."

"Sure Rodney," said Aidan, "Just be careful and not stand up too quickly or anything."

The man nodded and slowly stood up, with Aidan and Ralph assisting. Assured that he was feeling better, the man walked over on his own accord and sat down.

As Pam talked with Rodney, getting him a glass of water, Ralph grabbed Aidan's shoulder and held her back for a moment. "Ade… you took the suit off."

"Yeah, put it in the closet. Unless Tony barges in with a scenario, I'd rather keep it off long enough to enjoy dinner. Our luck, the turkey will come to life and talk to us."

"Would bring a new meaning to talking turkey," said Ralph, chuckling.

"Come on you two, get over here so we can enjoy our dinner before it gets cold," said Pam, chiding the two. Ralph and Aidan sat down and the group finished eating dinner, sharing stories about previous Thanksgivings and looking forward to future ones as a family… maybe someday with Rodney as a son-in-law.


End file.
